Gardens took the opening kickoff and went 80 yards in 12 plays to put the first score on the board. The big play in the drive was a 26-yard pass from senior quarterback Kio Coffie to Antonio Jones. Travis Hines also ran for 19 yards on a reverse that put the Gators at the Jupiter 1. Coffie went over the goal on the next play.

"You have to be able to score more than one touchdown in this game,'' Gardens second-year coach Tim Tharp said. "Offensively we sputtered. Defensively, I thought we played pretty good. The second half we had a little trouble shutting them down.''

After halftime, Jupiter scored on its first series, going 80 yards in 10 plays.

"The first half, we played the game like we were in practice. That's exactly what we told them at halftime,'' said Jupiter coach Charlie Persson, who opens his 18th season at 1-0. "It takes a while for kids to learn that Friday night under the lights is different from Monday through Thursday.''

Senior Renaldo Williams, who had 1 yard on three carries in the first half, broke loose for a 36-yard gain on the first play then finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run up the middle.

"The second half, everything just came together," said Williams, who finished the night with 119 yards on 15 carries. "We started working together as a team, and that's what we have to do. They were expecting me to carry the ball so they tried to lock me down.''

Senior Sammy Echeverria kicked the extra point for Jupiter creating a 7-6 lead.

After forcing the Gators out in four plays, the Warriors put together an 83-yard drive that reached the Gardens' 19. Jupiter was forced to try a 33-yard field goal, but it was blocked by the Gators' Anthony Evans.

The Jupiter defense bottled the Gators up and forced a punt early in the fourth quarter.

Staying on the ground, the Warriors drove 44 yards in 11 plays. Jupiter quarterback Chris Smajdor carried it from the 3. Echeverria's kick made it 14-6 with 3:29 to play.

The Gators answered with a 65-yard drive, scoring with 1:32 left. The Gators opted to rush for two points and the tie, but the Warriors snuffed out Earl Newby's run up the middle.

DEERFIELD BEACH 25, ST. THOMAS 20: The Deerfield Beach football team needed a victory against a highly regarded opponent to put its program on the map.

The Bucks got one, edging St. Thomas 25-20 in a battle between two of the state's top teams. Two-time state champion St. Thomas entered ranked first in Class 4A, while the Bucks were No. 4 in 6A.

"They're the most elite program in the state," Deerfield Beach coach Perry Schneider said. "Our kids did a heck of a job. They've been thinking about this game since the schedule came out last year. I think we deserve the No. 4 ranking and they deserve No. 1. No one else will beat them."

The game was tight all the way with the lead changing five times before the Bucks got the decisive touchdown.

"The last few days I've slept St. Thomas, dreamed about St. Thomas," Jehova St. Hilaire said. "All my life I've wanted to play St. Thomas. This means a lot for us to beat them."